Akara, Roasted Corn and the Power of Choice
On survival, aspiration and building a future with more opportunities.
Last week, I talked about the Olodo Uprising, the conversation that took over Nigerian X and sparked a broader conversation about curiosity, learning, and the kind of culture we choose to celebrate. If you haven’t read it yet, you can catch up here.
That got me thinking, and this week I want to think out loud with you.
What kind of opportunities should young people actually be encouraged to aspire to? Because while there is dignity in every honest hustle, there should also be a clear path for anyone who wants to dream bigger and build further.
There is nothing wrong with starting small. Across Nigeria, entire families have been fed, sent to school, and held together because someone chose to show up every day and build something honest from whatever they had. That deserves genuine respect.
But some of the biggest businesses in the world began with almost nothing. What defined them was never where they started. It was that they had room to grow and someone who believed enough to bet on them.
The future worth building is not one where young people simply get through the day. It’s one where they wake up with real choices to become whomever they want to be. That is the difference between survival and possibility, and every new skill is a step toward that difference.
A fresh graduate learns to code. A mum discovers digital marketing. A teacher adds data analytics to everything she already knows. The skill matters, but what it unlocks matters even more. The confidence, the hope, the income, and the belief that your future is something you can actually shape.
No one should believe that where they start is where they have to stay. Access to real education and future-ready skills is not a bonus. It should be the foundation.
This is why Genesys Tech Hub and Genesys Foundation exists.
We have seen what happens when potential meets opportunity. Young people walk through our doors carrying curiosity and a hunger for something more. Many arrive with no technical experience at all and leave with real skills, industry exposure, and a confidence that only comes from doing the work. Some become software engineers. Others go into product design or digital marketing or start their own companies. Many go on to open doors for the people coming up behind them.
That is the future we are committed to building, one where young Africans are equipped with skills that matter and connected to opportunities that are real.
Maybe this conversation was never really about akara. 😅 Maybe it was always about aspiration, about what we believe young Nigerians are truly capable of and whether we are willing to build the conditions for them to find out.
Before I go, here is something I hope you will carry with you this week.
Check in on yourself, Are you still learning? Are you still moving, even slowly? Because growth rarely announces itself. It just shows up without your realization. Keep betting on yourself, because the future has a way of rewarding the people who refuse to stop growing.
Rooting for you as always,
Brave, from Genesys Tech Hub